Trust Your Wince-tincts

We Wince.  And wincing is a big deal. 

Think about the Wince: our eyes squint up, we squeeze our shoulders together and we wish just for that moment,  that we weren’t there to see or hear whatever it is that is making us wince.

Wincing is not good.  Not good at all.  But it can help you figure out stuff for the better. 

Sometimes bad acting will make you wince (Hugh Grant comes to mind).  Some movies are 2 hours of a Wince fest (I’m still scarred by that kid movie Chicken Run a decade ago).  Nick Jonas as Marius in Les Miserable 25^th anniversary show is probably this century’s greatest wince to date.  But many times you wince in the marketplace or at work.   That’s something we can fix. 

In the marketplace you often sense in advance the wince is coming like when the store clerk says to the customer in front of you “ Do you have a rewards card?” then you wince and immediately drop your eyes to the ground.  Why? Because you know what’s coming – the horrible cross sell -“Would you like to sign up for one..?”  And the wincing isn’t over because its your turn now –you’re about to get the same WinceDom from the clerk.  Ugh.

I wince when the waiter gets too familiar too soon and leans down and just about cuddles up next to me to share the day’s specials (just as he was trained to do I am sure).   I Wince at the airport when I hear the gate agent say “And now we welcome our Delta Super Flyers, Northwest Perks Puppies, Frequent Flyer Super Dupers and Platinum Star Cadets” or whatever it is they say.    It’s so rote and boring and there are just so many titles that it is meaningless and downright embarrassing.   I also wince when I hear at the end of a phone call;   “Have we met all of your needs and are you satisfied with your experience with me today?”   This is a Wince slap no matter how I feel.  Ugh.  What do you think I’m gonna do if I’m not happy?  Pick a fight?  Just tell me “Thank you for your business” and let me go.

I’ve come to think that Wince is a very good word and tell for uncomfortable sales and service.   It’s a great descriptor and is great for identifying those moments that need real help and that need to be fixed because wincing is very truthful.  You have a hard time faking or making up a wince on the fly – It’s just the way it is.    Those moments you wince in any experience are called Wince Points.

Wince Points are no fun.   We should make them go away. 

What about you? What are the Wince Points for you?   When you listen to your colleagues over the wall or listen to client interactions remotely, or along side a sales rep in the field; what makes you wince? 

I wince with my eyes squeezed shut when I hear stuff like “I’m calling just to check in…” or “We have 1/2 off anything new if want something”.  I wince when I see vendor slides that begin with their credentials and not what they’ve learned about me first.  I wince when I see 10 bullets on a WebEx, hear a dog barking in the background in a virtual meeting, see an unchanged automated invitation to me to connect on Linked in, read emails with suggested times to meet but no indication of time zone and I wince when someone tells me to consider then earth when deciding whether to print this document just to name a few more.

Wince Points are everywhere.

Focus on the winces.  And trust your “Wince-tincts”. They are truthful and honest moments.   Make a plan, create a process, get a training or get some coaching to help get rid of the winces.

If it makes you wince, there is something wrong with that moment. Don’t fight it, just go and fix it.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

Mark’s Blog

Mark’s Twitter

3 Powerful Words and How to Avoid Sales Pain in the Shower.  How can you resist?  

If they help you grow your business even a little bit, that would be (as we say where I’m from), wicked awesome!  Have a great day!

 Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

Mark’s Blog

Mark’s Twitter

-10 Under Par!

I took great joy in beating the two 16 year olds Saturday.  Crushed their souls I did. 

But I took greater joy in beating up the golf course.  10 under par was my score – that had to be some kind of record! 

At least for me it was.  I am framing that pictured scorecard and it is going right downstairs in the Man Room on the wall where it belongs. 

10 under!  Some team of golf course architects sat in some design laboratory in Florida years ago when they designed this course figuring out that the hole called “Cliffhanger” was a par 3 and that so was “High Anxiety” and so was that monster hole “Bear Cave”.   Heck, the Masters has names for their golf holes like “Magnolia” and “Golden Bell” and that is one tough course.

But these golf course gurus did not expect my 5 holes in one Saturday (including 4 in a row!) and nor did my son and his friend. “Go build your fragile self esteem and confidence somewhere else” I said, (like I literally did say that).  I was on fire!

I knew my concentration and skill were better than the two teenagers and that I would win, but the best part was I was way better than the “standard” of good golf – by shooting a 34 on a par 44 mini-golf course.  Expert mini golfer in the house!  I’m a darn near pro!  I will always have good feelings about Max’s Mini Golf. 

Now when you think about it, par 44 is probably a bit liberal assessment of the course difficulty.   And probably on purpose by said architects in my vision.  But it made my day. Quenched my competitive spirit it did.   It really did.  Silly I know.  But not really.   There’s something about it that’s good.   And smart.

I wonder if that “better than standard” thing has some value in the workplace and in business. – Actually, I know it does:

• It’s the crux of the silver, gold and platinum airline classes as well as the credit cards.  Everyone knows “most people” aren’t or don’t perform at these levels so already that kind of “achievement” and expertise ( think all the “professional traveler” commercials you see of late)  taps into the emotional competitive attachment of individuals and to that of the company. 
• Gamification is  huge in the world of learning today.  In some businesses you log into “game portals” – play games (and learn), earn points, badges and medals advancing through levels and certifications of expertise.  You know all the way along how you compare to “standards” and your peers ( where you rank) in oodles of categories.  On purpose.
• Pizza joints love the “Beat the Pizza-mageddon” where in the space of an hour two people must eat a pizza the size of a man-hole cover and win prizes and publicity in the local paper.  “Nobody’s done it yet” the sign says.  That’ll drive more than just 2 adults to dare- they’ll bring all their friends too and order up! Bring your competitive spirit and your emotional attachment to the joint like, forever.

So fun is good.  Winning is good.  Earning stuff is good.  But having the chance to walk around town as the perceived professional mini golfer, the professional traveler, or even the pro eater is well, good for business too. 

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

Mark’s Blog

Mark’s Twitter

Stumped

Nobel Prize winning Psychologist Daniel Kahneman said  “The remarkable thing about your mental life is that you are rarely ever stumped.” 

How interesting.  This little quote has roiled around in my head for a month.  Can’t shake it.

Think about how true it is.   Heck, I’m gonna do this or I’m gonna do that.  Or goshdarnit, I’m going to do nothing!  Bottom line is most of the time,  I know what I’m gonna do.   And most of the time we make judgements and decisions in a flash and rarely are stumped or stuck in a quandary.

I read Kahneman’s quote in the Heath Brothers latest book called “Decisive” ( big thumbs up from me). The book has some compelling methods to help us all make better decisions of course ( if we ever allow ourselves to be stumped) but that’s for a later blog or two.

Lets just chat a bit about the stumped thing.  Stumped is what I think we should be more of.  Here’s why:

•  When was the last time you talked to a prospect, did some great discovery, built credibility and commonality, talked pain points and said, ” You know, you’ve given me some things to think about and I’m not sure exactly what the best thing to do is, let me get back to you in a couple of days.”  Answer? Never.  You’re in sales, you’re never stumped and you and I both know it. 
• When was the last time you launched a project to tackle a problem and didn’t  pretty much have the answer already embalzoned in your brain about what you think is the right solution?  Way less than you think.  You’re not stumped.  No Never.  Not you. You can, like nobody else, see the future clearly.
•  When was the last time you didn’t judge, label or categorize someone you just met because you were so comfortable with “waiting and seeing” what this person was really about?  Not often enough.  You’re never stumped when it comes to giving an opinion on the new person even if you just give that opinion to yourself.

The you here is me ( and yes, likely you too). 

I’ve pitched an idea or a solution well before I knew what I should really do – I should have been stumped.   I’ve launched a project ( just this week as a matter of fact) tackling a problem that I am brazen enough to think I already know the answer to, until my LEAN mentor smacked me upside the head and said “You need to be stumped in the beginning for this thing to work.”  I’ve judged someone in just 20 minutes of conversation and another in probably 30 seconds – and did it not long ago either – both are awful things to do.  Not fair and frankly, stupid.   Stumped is what I needed to be there and always. 

Not being stumped can get us into trouble; that’s the message here.  Conversely,  being stumped can do some great things like impress the hell out of a customer and get them the best help possible.  Being stumped can get your problem solved better because you didn’t presume you knew the damn answer.   And being stumped is certainly the best way to treat people you meet all the time and to get the most and the best out of that relationship.

Stumped ain’t bad.  Stumped is good.  So all you people out there with the answers ( and that means you too McCarthy) quit talking to me, I gotta work these things out like I don’t have any idea. 

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

Mark’s Blog

Mark’s Twitter

To Aid

After the shock and within 10 seconds, you can see the runners running in.

Of course, more than 20,000 ran on Monday; some ran 26.2 miles, some sadly not quite that much and many of the most brave (and there were so many!),  ran just a few dozen yards of the most important race of their lives.

There were the real runners (who had been running already for hours) who ran into the scene, not away from it.  There were the runners who never were runners – but watchers who ran for the first time that day towards the scene, not away from it.   And there were runners we expected to burst into stride when terror strikes and they did so; the police, the soldiers and the emergency medical personnel all ran into the scene.

It would be so easy to run away.  But watch the shifting shapes and images in the videos – so many move towards, not away.   So many.

It seems we’re a nation of first responders these days and that is sad.  And in Fear, real fear – the kind like we saw Monday, there is often the thought that there are only two choices people make – to fight or to flee but really, there is a third I suspect, and that is to aid.

I don’t live far away from this latest attack on our soil and our souls.  And so for me, there are images that will stick differently than maybe with you in your town of New York or Oklahoma or Washington DC or wherever you heart hurts when these moments of evil occur.    There are those images in Boston somewhat thankfully, that are already fleeting for me, but I’ll never forget the swarm of people running in to aid.

To aid seems deep in the core of many.   And I know that this choice is why while many hundreds were wounded,  so relatively few thankfully perished.   And if there is anything we can take solace and comfort in here, it is that. 

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

Mark’s Blog

Mark’s Twitter

Piano Man is A Bad Song

Who knew Billy Joel could teach us a key lesson about sales and marketing?

 Lately I’ve been really into Billy Joel again.  Not the late 80’s and 90’s Billy – Uptown Girl stuff, but the good stuff – The early stuff. 

My son (who is downright amazing on the piano), was on YouTube last month and watched the Inside the Actor’s Guild 1999 Interview with Billy Joel.  I (a piano player of a lower order) decided to check out that interview too.

And then I heard him say it.  It was stunning. 

“Piano Man is really not a good song”.   He said this in reaction to James Lipton pointing out one of the most unusual things about the song – that it was in ¾ time.  It’s essentially a waltz.     

It’s a waltz but that’s not why the song is “not that good” Billy explained.   He said that the song is “so simple” and really just “repeats itself over and over again like a Limerick” with even some “La da diddy da’s” thrown in.  

He said some people know it’s bad.  Whenever he enters a restaurant or bar with a piano player these days, the musician will make eye contact and invariably start playing “Piano Man” which is all nice and good until “he realizes the song just repeats itself” and then “repeats itself some more” and “then he looks me in the eye blankly and I just nod and say “See?  Not much too it!”

I love that song.  We all love that song.  It’s a great song!

“If it’s so simple and bad, why is it so popular?” James Lipton asked.

“It’s got one hell of a story” Billy replied. 

There is was.  And there it is.  There’s Paul – who’s a real estate novelist, there’s Davy who is still in the Navy and there’s the waitress who is practicing politics.     All real people Billy explained (even Davy whose name is “Davy” and was in the Navy.)   

The point is pretty clear.  Great story makes up for a lot of things.  Some of Billy’s music is compositionally brilliant and has good to great stories in them; New York State of Mind and Scenes from an Italian Restaurant come to mind. 

But Piano Man is not a great song.   It is simple.  It does sound like Limerick.   But the story.  The Story.  The Story.   That makes it good.  And makes it stick and well, makes it awesome.

You need stories.  We all need them.  Piano Man is a lesson about how a great story needs to be wrapped inside your business, your solutions, your brand and your pitches. 

We know this.  We hear it all the time.  But we don’t always listen.   Powerful stories work hard for movies, books, businesses and I realize, music.    So all you marketers and sales people get out there and sing us that song, you’re the Piano Man!

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

Mark’s Blog

Mark’s Twitter

It’s Better Read than Said

How many of you like pulling VM from friends or colleagues on your smart phones, home phones or work phones these days? 

That many. 

I thought so.

So cumbersome, this voice thing:  So much time wasted listening to the slog of a human voice blathering dozens of extra words around the likely simple intent of the message  added to the process of accessing, listening and remembering what was said ( or worse –lunging for a post it note to scribble it on).

It’s getting harder and harder to find the time out there to listen to the human voice share information.

Why?  Because it’s getting so much easier, faster and efficient to read it.  And type it.  And text it.   And Like it.  And Follow it.   And also to Learn and Share and Refer and Recommend.

We are information hogs, all of us now.  We can’t get enough.   We want information in huge amounts,   And we want it in a way we can save it, retrieve it and share it.    We want so much so fast, that it becomes easier to accept the inefficiency of the human voice and not want to use it or as we more increasingly feel, hear it.  

You need to understand the change here on a couple of levels.

You as a person and an employee should know:

• When you do talk or leave a voicemail, it better be good and meaningful and compellingly vital because if it’s not- it should have just been an email or post and eyes will roll.
• Human nature yearns for the sharing of “one to many”.   Everything you might have wanted to say to some one you can say to hundreds or thousands at the same time but without the fear of Public speaking.  That is outrageously attractive to people.  And that’s a powerful thing for your self and your career if you embrace it well.

You as a business owner should know:

• This is Word of Mouth now.  This is where your clients rave or rage about you.  You must make it easy for your customers to pass along good things about you and your business.  One to one still works but people would much rather “tell 10 friends” except this time they can do it for real in seconds.  
• You have to be smarter and cooler and more valuable than your website.  If talking with you takes 5 times longer than what the prospect could have gotten in 3 clicks on your website then you are not adding value where you should.  Think hard about what your voice brings to your business.  Think brand.  Think feel.  Think purpose.   Then plan and speak accordingly. 

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

Mark’s Blog

Mark’s Twitter

If You’re Confused, What The Heck Do You Think Your Prospect Is?

I spend a lot of time looking at, and experiencing training these days.     And sometimes it’s clear that the things we train our own employees, like some of the products and services we sell,  can be …well …..confusing.  Not every service or product as everyone well knows,  is tangible or simple.  Some,  like financial products or online marketing products can feel particularly abstract and complex.

And if it’s confusing to my Trainers when they first start to learn the products and then later for the Sales and Service people who then have to present in front of customers, do ya think it might be that much more confusing for prospects and clients when they are first are approached or exposed to these things? 

And if you’ve ever read anything in this blog before, you already know that confusion kills sales.

Here are 3 ways to alleviate that confusion when you represent a complex product or service:

• Teach your Sales people to teach.  Get past the idea that sales of complex or non tangible products / services begins with the pitch.  It doesn’t.  It begins with the teach.  It’s OK to build teaching into your sales cycle despite the fear of lengthening the sales cycles.  You aren’t lengthening the sales cycle – you are starting earlier – you have to.    It’s OK to get all your sales people to a level where they become experts with online webinars under their belts, with  killer LinkedIn pages and Twitter followers who look to them for as much insight as they do for what’s on sale. 

•  3′s:  Everything in 3′s:   The mind is not wired to remember more than 5 numbers, let alone 5 points.   If you have a service for example that manages your online marketing spend then even if it has 12 steps to get started, it should sound like “…Only 3 key steps to getting you started.  In the first step we’ll interview you around 3 important areas like…….  Then after that, we get to tackling 3 areas of your current website like…..” You get it.  “3″ sounds simple.  Simple eases tension and sales can keep on moving.

•  Analogies:   Nothing simplifies better.  Are you a marketing consultant? Nope, you’re a marketing GPS that gets the business to the destination of 25% more customers.  Are you a website developer?  Nope; you are building an automated employee that works 24 hours a day taking orders and that never sleeps.    Think hard about what you sell or service and find that perfect analogy that makes it click and stick. 

This blog is not complex but I kept it to 3 points.  More than that and it gets confusing who the heck wants to read that?

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

Mark’s Blog

Mark’s Twitter

Punctuation Free ( For a Reason)

When you look closely, there is no comma, slash, semi-colon, parenthesis or period between the title words “Sales Representative.”  And that’s on purpose.   You have to do both at the same time. 

You have to sell but you have to represent the company simultaneously.  It’s not one or the other.  You can’t sell for selling sake and set unreal expectations or pound out fishy phone calls or phishy emails because then you are not “representing” the company well.   Conversely, you can’t be all Kumbaya and go harvesting customers with super friendly experiences and never broach filling the unmet needs of the customer. 

There is no comma, slash, semi-colon, parenthesis or period between the title “Service Representative” either.

You have to give great service but you have to represent the company simultaneously time.  It’s not one or the other.  If you don’t take ownership (“I don’t know why they did that in shipping..”) or apologize for real (“sorry that happened to you…what’s your account number?” ) you are leaving an awful impression as a Rep of the company.   Conversely, your reliance on policy or procedure or terms and conditions do little to evoke the “service” part of a service call. 

There is also no comma, slash, semi-colon, parenthesis or period between the titles of “Sales Manager” or  “Service Manager” so you best know sales and service at an expert level and likewise need to know how to expertly support your people at the same time. 

Punctuation between words has its place – a means often to stop, pause, reposition and separate.  But if it ain’t there it ain’t there – that means when the words go together; they belong together. 

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

Mark’s Blog

Mark’s Twitter

7 Things Your Prospect Won’t Tell You

Whether I, your prized business prospect, is calling you or picking up your phone call, there are things I just won’t tell you.  

1) I used to be in sales too.   You’d be surprised how many of us decision makers started out, or are still in, sales.   And I can still smell a trial close, a rotating yes and min/max close from 50 feet away.  Don’t use tricky closes on me.

2) Don’t make me feel stupid even for a second.  I know my world very well – not your world and if you make me feel like I’m an idiot presuming I know or like your acronyms, buzzwords and fast talking pitches- I’m gone;  I’ll just go to your competitors website and read and email- – that way no one has to talk to me.

3) Tell me what everyone else is doing.  I hate to admit this sometimes even to myself but I do want to know what my competitors or even my industry is doing lately and haven’t had any time to dig in.  But I’m not about to go ask you — yet I wouldn’t mind hearing it if you wanted to just shout it out.   Am I missing out on something or some trend?

4) I know more way more about you than you think.   I’ve been to your website; I’ve Googled your reviews.  Heck I’ve Googled you and saw you on LinkedIn and Twitter (or didn’t- and what does that mean?)    I may have seen a few opinions about your company on Twitter already. So don’t waste my time with the basics about yourself – I got it.  I called you because I want something more than the internet can give me. 

5) I don’t expect much from you.   I just never know if you really work for this company I am calling or am getting called from.  Are you a contractor, an outsourced support, brand new employee, who knows?  I don’t have high hopes but if you can assure me quickly you know what the heck you are doing then maybe I’ll listen.

6) I’d rather do nothing.  Seriously, I hate change.  I wish everything I do today would just work better.  Change is costly, risky, takes forever it seems and I am busy enough already.  I won’t tell you that of course.  I’d rather just flat our say no or compare you to someone else or put you off but honestly; doing what I do today is just easier.   If you can’t make me do something “different” and get me to get off the dime and essentially hate what I am doing today- then don’t bother. 

7) You’re 7^th on the list.  I respect you dear supplier but my family, my boss, my colleagues, my customers, my pastor and my pets all come before you my trusted partner.  Nothing personal- you can be very valuable to me but everyone else here is getting something for Christmas next year just so’s ya know.

Till next time,

Grow The Business.

Mark

Mark’s Blog

Mark’s Twitter